"You know each other?" Old Mr. Shen was surprised that Xia Yuzhu knew An Ran, and sothing flashed through his mind.
"Yes, we know each other," Xia Yuzhu said gently, greeting the Mu Family before gradually explaining.
"Old Shen, it’s been twenty years, twenty years since I haven’t returned to the Shen Family, because of the guilt in my heart, not knowing how to face you all. I have let down Old Shen, even more so Mrs. Shen. I didn’t take good care of Jie, letting her be bullied, and allowed her child to wander outside, suffering the world’s hardships."
"What?" Old Mr. Shen interrupted Xia Yuzhu’s words, standing up. "You an... that child of Jie is still alive?"
"Dad, after this period of investigation, indeed so people have said that Jie’s child did not die. After being born, the elderly from the family Jie was in raised him, but disappeared when he was five months old." Shen Zheng took over the conversation.
"Disappeared? How could a five-month-old child disappear?" Old Mr. Shen’s emotions were quite agitated, his daughter was gone, and that child had beco the spiritual solace, the only bloodline his daughter left behind. How could he let her be lost outside?
"Soone said he was taken away by a wolf. You know, the place is surrounded by mountains, and it’s normal for wolves to appear. Others said he was taken by traffickers. But no one knows for sure, as I haven’t gotten any clear information. Afraid of telling you only to get your hopes up for nothing, I didn’t share the information I found with you until now," Shen Zheng replied.
"What my brother-in-law found matches with what I heard," Xia Yuzhu continued.
"Back then, I went with Jie to that place for labor reform. Later, when the policy ward up, people started to return to the city in batches, while those who didn’t start getting restless.
With our identities, Jie and I might never have returned to the city. The best result would have been the last batch. At that ti, Jie fell in love with a youth from the neighboring village, and I also had a romance. But we were too young and foolish at the ti; I was tricked into going to G City, while the man Jie was with was only interested in the Shen Family backing her.
Later, he learned the Shen Family was caught in a political storm and couldn’t bring them back to the city, so he abandoned Jie, climbed higher, and returned to the city using another woman. Poor Jie was five months pregnant by then, malnourished and stressed in that desolate mountainous area, ultimately dying in childbirth.
When I escaped back from G City to that place, everything had changed. I have let down Jie and Old Shen, Mrs. Shen. I knew I had no face left to return to the Shen Family; my only thought was to find that child. I believe that child is still in the world."
Even knowing that his daughter had suffered a lot during that ti, hearing Xia Yuzhu talk about the experiences firsthand made Old Mr. Shen’s eyes fill with tears.
In his heart, he cherished his grown daughter, yet she had endured so much suffering, suffering directly tied to him. If he hadn’t been so headstrong and rash in his youth, trying to stand up for himself, how could he have sent his daughter to such a place?
"That child... you said you’ve been looking for that child, has he... been found?" Old Mr. Shen trembled as he asked.
Xia Yuzhu said she had no face left to return to the Shen Family; her only thought was to find that child.
Now that she’s returned to the Shen Family, is it possible that child...
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